CFD Firefighter William Grant

As a fellow Chicago Firefighter, I was appauled at the medias coverage of
Firefighter William Grant's funeral. No one covered it live and the web
casts that were availale kept freezing and going out. I unfortunately had
to work as did hundreds of other Chicago firefighters. I was glued to the
television at 10:30 and only bits and pieces were aired. Did anyone besides
this mans family and firefighters across the country care? I gues hard
work, dedication and duty are not news worthy.

Yes, it was beautiful. Yes, it was large and impresive. Yes, is was
extremely sad. Yes, it was something that is usually reserved for heads of
state. But that's not what it was about and that was the only reason the
media covered it. It was about a great man, a geat father, a great husband
and a great firefighter. Nothing more. The show was not what was
important. It was the man. Heroes like him deserve more. A hero was laid
to rest. And more importantly, we lost a hero.

I really wonder where peoples priorities are. You can turn the TV on any
time of the day and hear about Anna Nicole Smith or turn on any local news
and watch that apphauling video of that cop beating the female bartender.
What is really important to us?

White, Black & Hispanic. Male and Female. Catholics, Jews, Muslims and
Athiests. Republicans and Democrats. All finally comming together for a
brief moment putting all our differences together to do something good and
something positive. Honor a great man, a great father, a great husband and
a great firefighter.

I have been on the job for a little under two years. I am the fifth
generation in my family to proudly wear the badge of a Chicago firefighter.
I unfortunately never had the chance to meet William Grant. I pray for him
and his family every night as do my four children. I pray that I can become
the type of firefighter he was and that I will be able to honor my family,
The City of Chicago and The Chicago Fire Department as he did. He gave the
ultimate sacrifice for this city and for all it's residents. Every single
man and woman in a Chicago Fire Department uniform that was in attendance at
the funeral or at the firehouses scattered throughout the city is of the
same character.

We were all hurt beyond belief at the loss of this man. He was the type
that all firefighters could look up to and try and emmulate. The motto of
The Chicago Fire Department is "We're there when you need us!". Where was
the media when we needed them. Where was "What's Really Important!"

When a bad cop or bad firefighter screws up, it's front page news or they
break into your favorite show with all the nasty details. Is this the only
news people care about any more?

What was important was Queen of Martyrs and Saint John Fisher schools
allowing all the children to line 103rd street and honor this man. What was
impotant was the hundreds of people who had no duty to honor this man come
out of their houses and walk blocks to watch the funeral procession pass
by.

I guess being a firefighter instills you with different values. I guess we
place importance on different things. The people in the media and the
station managers at our local stations should be ashamed and embarrased. It
would have been a great opportunity to show our children the story of a
great man, working in a great city and for a great fire department. It
would have been good to use William Grant's story to highlight dedication to
his family and to his job.

Does the media and news care? The Chicago Fire Department and William Grant
cared. We actualy dont care in a different yet good way. We don't care
who's house it is. We'll be there. We don't care what color or race you
are. We'll be there. We don't care what time it is. We'll be there. We
don't care what dangers we face. We'll be there.